Barack Obama says times still tough for many Americans

President Barack Obama, speaking shortly after the worst US recession since the 1930s was declared officially over, defended his policies on Monday but said times were still tough for many Americans.

"Even though economists may say the recession officially ended last year, obviously for the millions of people who are still out of work ... it is still very real for them," Obama told a town hall-style meeting hosted by CNBC television.

Obama's Democrats risk punishment in November congressional elections from voters worried by US unemployment, stuck near 10%, and by the still-fragile state of the economy.

Even his own supporters are frustrated, and the first question to the president was from a woman who said she was tired of defending his policies.

"My goal here is not to try to convince you that everything's where it needs to be -- it's not. That's why I ran for president. But what I am saying is ... that we're moving in the right direction," Obama said.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, the official arbiter of the US business cycle, said on Monday the longest downturn since the Great Depression ended in June 2009.

But the pace of recovery since then has remained largely below the level needed to quickly replace the millions of jobs lost in the recession, and recent economic indicators signal  growth has softened again in the past couple of months.

"Something that took 10 years to create is going to take a little more time to solve," Obama said.

Republicans are expected to profit from the uncertain economic outlook in the November 2 midterm election, with polls suggesting they may well capture the US House of Representatives and have an outside shot at the Senate.

All 435 seats in the House and 37 of the 100 Senate seats will be contested.

Obama has fought to boost growth through an $814 billion emergency spending bill in February 2009.

But additional steps to use fiscal policy to lift hiring have been blocked by Republican lawmakers worried about the record US budget deficit, predicted to hit $1.47 trillion this year.

The White House proposes spending a further $180 billion over the next 10 years to renew US infrastructure, boost research and encourage corporate investment.

Obama also wants to help consumer spending by making Bush-era tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year permanent, while allowing them to rise on richer Americans. Republicans want the tax cuts extended for everyone.

"The question ... becomes what can we now put in place to make sure that the trendlines continue in a positive direction as opposed to going back in a negative direction," he said.